Grubauer Stellar in AHL Debut

HERSHEY, Pa. – After video review of a dislodged goal frame late in overtime, the Binghamton Senators were awarded a goal to give them a 2-1 win over the HERSHEY BEARS on Sunday evening at GIANT Center.

Hugh Jessiman had the puck deep in the BEARS end of the ice, and walked the goal line to make a pass in front. Philipp Grubauer, making his AHL debut, had bodies around him as the net was dislodged behind him. One referee initially waved off the goal, but replay confirmed that Jessiman’s pass attempt deflected into the net prior to coming off its moorings.

The goal gave Grubauer a tough-luck loss, as he single-handedly kept his team in the game in the opening 20 minutes. Facing a two-man disadvantage, Grubauer made three saves through traffic and had shot-blocking help from Boyd Kane to keep the visitors off of the score sheet.

Binghamton broke through first with a goal early in the second period. Grubauer made a pad stop on Mike Hoffman’s shot from the left circle, but kicked the puck into the slot where Andre Benoit was waiting. Benoit had a gaping net into which he fired the puck at 3:02.

The BEARS tied it when the line of Jeff Taffe, Jon DiSalvatore and Barry Almeida rushed through neutral ice after Garrett Stafford and Dmitry Orlov got the puck out of their own end. Taffe held the puck himself and let fly with a slap shot that beat Senators netminder Robin Lehner through the pads at 16:52.

The score remained tied until the overtime, when the Senators were able to cash in on Jessiman’s second of the season.

The BEARS will travel to Hartford on Friday, October 26 to take on the Connecticut Whale in a 7:00 PM matchup. The BEARS return home on Saturday, October 27 for a 7:00 PM faceoff against the Albany Devils. Tickets for this game and all HERSHEY BEARS home games are on sale at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR, or online at TicketMaster.com.